almost one more month till the main season...

jimwilkins · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 70

I'm so stoked about the up & coming spring/summer season, I spent literaly everyday in the gym getting strong for windsurfing. New gear, attitude, it's going to be the best yet.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

If you really know what you're doing in the gym, ignore this post.

Otherwise:

1. Unless you're being careful to avoid working any given muscle on two successive days, you're tearing yourself down, not building up.

2. Unless we're really weak, we need muscle endurance, not more strength. The two come from very different exercise paradigms. The standard threshold is this: if you can execute a sports move (e.g., sheeting in, leg press) 10 times at the load and speed required for WSing, you've got the necessary strength and will benefit more from endurance training.

3. I hope you're changing your workout often. Our bodies plateau within a few weeks if we don't surprise them with a new workout.

4. I hope that your cardio work is LSD (no, not that; long slow distance ... read: boring) to train your muscles to run on fat. High pulse rate cardio work trains us to run on sugar, which cuts shred time.

5. I hope you're busting your core hard. It's vital to any whole-body sport. And I don't mean crunches; they're primarily for show, not go; i.e., they're just cosmetic. The real core muscles, the ones we actually use, are much deeper.

Mike \m/

jse · Joined: 17 Apr 1995 Posts: 1460 Location: Maui

I agree with most of what Mike says. However I think if you're practicing freestyle moves, fast-twitch muscle strength, particularly in your upper body would benefit you. Of course, flexibility is equally important for that kind of thing.

Steve

jse · Joined: 17 Apr 1995 Posts: 1460 Location: Maui

Oh I forgot to mention... Cmon March!!!

jimwilkins · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 70

oh man, fast twich development emphisis on my torso, lower body. Heavy weights for my upper and shoulders, and about 50 miles run every week. Add a copios amount of lap swimming and getting baked in the steam room, recipe for buff....

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

jimwilkins,

Maybe you're a young guy and can push real hard, but I would suggest being cautious, particularly with the running regimen. Over time the things we do to ourselves can come back to haunt you as you age.

At my current age, I'm being plagued by my lack of mid-body flexibility and a sensitive lower back. Any simple ideas of how improve things without going to a gym or over doing it?

Fortunately, windsurfing treats me very well, but I recently bought a Starboard Serenity, and I'm finding that the whole uphauling process is really taxing me. Frankly, I can handle an inside out day of 4.2 wind and my 65 liter board quite easily compared to a very light wind session on the Serenity.

windoggi · Joined: 22 Feb 2002 Posts: 2743

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

I don't know, maybe the Serenity needs to go. Who cares about the super light stuff anyway?

Surely time will tell where the right path is. It always does, in one way or another.

FredFX · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject:

jimwilkins · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 70

there are lots of 16 year olds with no brains, take ya pick brah... YOGA is another idea, aparently theres alot of flatulance involved during the process so it might be no good.